It only makes sense that Beauty at its Finest is a one-stop shop for “everything beautiful in your life!” The website offers clothing for men, women, teens and children, accessories, and home décor.

Annabel’s parents enrolled her in GWUOHS in 9th grade so she could pursue her entrepreneurial passion.

“I always told my children that they needed to get jobs by 16,” Annabel’s mother, Enza said. “We also told them that if they couldn’t find a job, they should create one. Annabel really took that advice to heart. We wanted to give her a chance to make her business a reality.”

Annabel started researching on how to do ecommerce business herself at the age of 13. She wanted to start a business that was reasonable to run while she is still in school.

Attending online school has given Annabel the flexibility and time to work on her business. At 16-years-old she made a presentation to parents and pitched it and they were inspired by her and loved the idea. After some research, she started to design her booklet and find companies to work with.

All of the profits from Beauty at its Finest last November were used to purchase toys for the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

“I donated $1,025 worth of toys,” Annabel said. “I chose this hospital because I was also a patient in this hospital at one time. I love children and want to help them.”

Several electives at GWUOHS helped Annabel learn more about business.

“Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Accounting courses at GWUOHS all helped me learn more about business and learn things to help my business,” Annabel said.

She has enjoyed online school more so than her brick and mortar experience. It has allowed her to do school work at her own pace and allowed her to do more outside of a traditional classroom. She is also in the honors program.

Annabel has made great friends through GWUOHS, as well. She met a few of them through a meet and great for the online school in 9th grade. Annabel keeps in touch with them through Skype and they study together through video and voice chat.

This year, she will be graduating from GWUOHS.

“I am going to continue growing my business and start growing a second business opportunity as well,” Annabel said.

She is currently applying to various universities with the hopes to major in marketing to support her business endeavors.